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Wednesday, February 09, 2005

California Anti-methamphetamine help is on the way! Let's pass this bill and start cleaning up the mess Meth has caused!

The San Mateo County Times reports:

Legislation would restrict the sale of over-the-counter cold medicine

By Justin Jouvenal

State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, has introduced legislation that would restrict the sale of some forms of over-the-counter cold medicine that can be turned into methamphetamine.

Senate Bill 152 would require medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a nasal decongestant, to be sold behind pharmacy counters by a licensed pharmacist or technician. The bill also requires purchasers to show a
valid California driver's license when purchasing the medicines.

"California is the nation's capital of meth manufacturing," Speier said. "This bill will have a dramatic effect on the methampethamine that is manufactured and distributed using over-the-counter drugs."

Speier said small meth labs relying on pseudoephedrine are replacing "superlabs" in some parts of California. Currently, California produces 85
percent of the nation's methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Speier said the bill would leave a "mile-wide" trail for law enforcement officials to follow to find out who is using pseudoephedrine to cook up methamphetamine.

Speier based her bill on similar legislation in Oklahoma, which she said led to an 80 percent reduction in methamphetamine seizures in that state.

Speier believes
a similar reduction in methamphetamine seizures is possible here in California. The state spent $2.9 mil-lion last year cleaning up nearly 1,200 meth labs around the state.

Speier's bill would also do the following:

-It would require pseudoephedrine products to be kept in a locked area.

-Allow buyers to purchase no more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine over 30 days.

SB 152 would not apply to
liquid, liquid-capsule or gel-capsule forms of pseudoephedrine, as long as there is another active ingredient in the medicine.

The bill would not apply to prescription medicine.

For more information, visit http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/speier

Staff writer Justin Jouvenal can be reached at (650) 348-4331 or jjouvenal@sanmateocountytimes.com.